Cuts Like A Knife
by Scousedancer
Summary: After seeing Eric Dane's sneak peak photo on Twitter, this is my take on how Tom got the injury
1. Chapter 1

**Eric Dane posted the photo (Its totally his photo, copyright etc!) above as a sneak peak for Season 2, which led to much speculating between myself, Morning Glory2, and Starfoxtwin – this was my take on what might've happened**

**Cuts Like a Knife**

"Dr Scott to sickbay, I repeat Dr Scott to sickbay" Mike Slattery's voice came over the tannoy, startling Rachel out of her reflections.

It had been a busy day in sickbay, where she and Quincy had spent much of the morning, as they'd produced as much of the vaccine they were able to without more supplies, which a search party had been sent out to procure, along with other essential items. Tom had led the search party, much to Mike Slattery's annoyance, but she knew Tom had been desperate for some shore time and had over-ruled his XO. Rachel's heart sank, somehow she knew it was Tom who was the source of the XO's call, and trouble just seemed to find him without a great deal of help !

_Not unlike yourself then? _Her conscience prodded

Rachel dashed down the p-way as fast as she could, her heart racing as her overactive imagination conjured up scenario after scenario, all as upsetting as the last.

"_Stop it Rachel! You'll be precious little good to anyone panicking!"_She chastised herself. Finally she reached sickbay to a scene of utter chaos and raised voices, spurring Rachel into prompt action.

"THAT'S ENOUGH !" Rachel shouted, three male heads whipped round at her shout ""Now that I've got your attention, gentleman, would someone tell me what I've been paged for and why it's necessary to disturb sickbay by bellowing like a herd of wounded buffalo?"

Mike Slattery smiled in relief at the arrival of the petite British Doctor – despite their rocky beginning, he'd come to admire and like Rachel Scott. She'd become one of the Nathan James family and was he, freely admitted, probably one of the few people who could "control" Tom Chandler, other than his now deceased wife. Rios, and Tex, the other two members of the trio currently trying to restrain an obviously injured but resisting Tom Chandler, also heaved a sigh of relief at Rachel's arrival.

"Doctor Scott – as you see the captain managed to get himself injured, only he thinks a knife wound isn't serious" Slattery muttered sarcastically, glaring at his long time friend, who returned the glare with interest.

"The captain is quite able to speak for himself XO and I keep telling you I'm fine!" Tom snarled, clutching his wounded chest, trying not to wince.

Rachel simply rolled her eyes and shook her head – how in the name of god had she managed to fall for such a stubborn fool of a man?

"Everybody out – now please!" Rachel said loudly, causing Rios, Tex, and Mike to hustle out of the sickbay before the resulting explosions. When Tom Chandler and Rachel Scott went at it, the resulting arguments could be heard down several p-ways. Crew scuttlebutt privately speculated the two were secretly sleeping together, but no-one would EVER approach "mom &amp; pop" about it- not if you wanted to see your next birthday anyhow!

"Tom, just sit down and let me at least look at it" Rachel said, trying to keep her voice calm, despite the sudden urge to strangle him – dratted man!

"Why should I ..when I told you I'm fine?" Tom growled back, hating the fact he sounded like a spoilt, whiny child, not to mention the fact when Rachel used that calm tone of voice, it usually meant she was really pissed off.

"Because I asked you to" She replied. He was about to argue back but something in her eyes made Tom pause – and back down, sitting back on the gurney he'd been struggling to get off moments before.

The relieved trio heaved a sigh of relief when the resulting explosion didn't come, and dispersed to their respective posts.

Back in sickbay, Rachel set about examining the wounds, relieved that they weren't as serious as they appeared. The largest, the one at the base of his chest, would certainly need stitching and he certainly wouldn't be bench pressing anything heavier than a bag of sugar for a few weeks, but he'd be fine. The cut above the eye would need little more than steri-strips – hopefully she'd be able to accomplish both before she burst into tears. In the months after Baltimore, Rachel had become closely involved with the captain and his family, having lost her mother at a very young age she understood all too well what such a loss could do to even the closest family. The children, even Jed, had been easy to help, to support through their grieving, and she'd been happy to help them. Tom, though, had been a different matter – Darien had been the centre of his world for so long and his motivation to get through the virus generated crisis he'd found himself swept up in. As she'd listened to him, supported him, even held him through many tearful, dark nights Rachel could no longer kid herself that all she felt was friendship, mutual respect; somewhere along the line, she'd fallen head over heels in love with him. Problem was, Rachel had no idea how Tom felt – the man was so hard to read these days. As she finished suturing him and steri-stripping the face wound, Rachel quickly dressed the wounds, trying not to let the threatening tears fall. Tom noticed her tearful expression, hoping it was concern for him that had generated it; unbeknownst to Rachel, Tom had also begun to realise his feelings for the beautiful doctor had begun to morph into something stronger. She'd been there for him through what he knew had been one of the darkest periods of his life, and had realised his feelings had become love. In fact, it was his reflections over his emotions that had led him to miss the idiot with the knife that had inflicted his current wounds.

"Rachel - what's wrong? Look at me...please" Tom said softly, sitting up gingerly and reaching out to touch her face. Rachel tried hard to hold it together, but eventually she could no longer hold back the tears that had been threatening since she'd seen what she'd feared were life threatening wounds.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong is how you just blindly charge off into situations as if you're some Teflon coated super hero!" She cried "Did it ever occur to you that you're not invincible?!"

"Rachel, honey...I...I'm sorry" Tom replied "I didn't think you'd take it like this"

"No of course not! I'm just the woman who loves you to distraction you silly stupid man!" Rachel shot back, before realising her confession, and clapping a hand over her mouth in shock.

Tom smiled – she loved him! He couldn't help it, he felt like a giddy teenager again. Before Rachel could run out of sickbay, Tom reached out and pulled a tearful Rachel into his arms, kissing her soundly just as she had done to him all those months ago, aboard the Vyerni. The kiss rapidly turned heated, passionate – each revealing the love they'd developed for one another. Tom took advantage of their positions and trailed a series of passionate kisses down her neck, whilst his hands reached under her shirt, caressing the soft skin he found there. Rachel held her breath, enjoying the explorations and wanting him to go much, much further, but knowing sickbay really wasn't the place for it.

"Tom..._Tom_... this so.. isn't the... place for this" She gasped, trying to get his attention. Tom broke off his erotic explorations, and smiled down at her flustered expression, she looked adorable in her confusion.

"Ok...for now, but Rachel? I love you too, and I DO want to take this further, _much further_, but I agree, my quarters would be more appropriate" Tom smiled, kissing her again.

"Are you sure Tom?" Rachel asked, praying he wasn't spinning her a line.

"Very much so, I've realised lately just how much I do care for and love you, the chance to tell you just never seemed to come up, and now this" Tom replied, kissing her forehead tenderly. "so how about we take this someplace a little more private, before we really fuel the gossip mill?"

Rachel nodded, not trusting herself to say anymore and helped Tom dress and walked slowly with him back to his quarters, neither of them noticing the tall, blond shadow of Mike Slattery watching their steady progress along the p-way, smiling at their retreating backs.

***Love it? Should it be a one shot or shall I take it further?***


	2. Chapter 2

Authors note: First off, many thanks to Morning Glory2 &amp; Starfoxtwin for beta-ing this fic and to all those of you who've left me those lovely reviews, music to this author's ears! Speaking of reviews, if you're reading &amp; enjoying this story – but haven't left a review, please do so! It tells any author, not just me, that people are actually reading what you've written – even if it's just one sentence, let the author know you like their work! We write because we love to write, but we also do it for you the readers, because hopefully we're writing what you want to read! Thank you &amp; hope you enjoy the story!

**Cuts Like a knife – Chapter 2**

Rachel and Tom made slow progress as they made their way down the p-way towards Tom's quarters, the shock of the injury now beginning to take effect. Rachel tried to use the time to regain some semblance of control, as Tom's revelation that he returned her feelings thrilled her and that kiss – her heart was still racing from it!

"Got to say Rachel, this is the quietest I've ever known you to be – cat got your tongue?" Tom quipped, jokingly.

"Cat? No, the Captain" Rachel returned, her tone low and husky. Tom's eyebrows shot up in surprise, he would've laughed, but it hurt too much.

"Touché´ Môn amour" he replied, knowing that Rachel spoke French as her rosy blush testified.

He knew he ought to refrain from teasing her, but watching the normally oh-so composed Rachel Scott getting flustered and knowing he was the cause was just irresistible. Finally arriving at the Captain's quarters, Tom waited whilst Rachel opened the cabin door to the excited chatter of his two children. His heart sank, Tom had hoped Ashley and Sam would be in bed, thus sparing him having to face them looking and feeling so pale and weak. They worried over every injury, scrape, and bruise – far more so since the Red Flu crisis. Tom pulled his BDU jacket tighter across his chest, hoping it would cover the bandage, thus preventing the children from seeing it. It was a pity there hadn't been a clean, undamaged jacket that he could've borrowed, but being so broad across the shoulders meant none but his own uniforms would fit. Unfortunately for Tom, Ashley had already spotted it – she was an observant child, his daughter.

"Daddy! What happened?Are you ok?" Ashley cried, as she spotted the bandage on Tom's abdomen. Sam looked no less worried, but let his older sister do the talking. Tom knelt down and opened his arms to the worried children who dashed over to their father hugging him gingerly, trying not to hurt him.

"Hey, hey guys – I'm ok, it's just a scratch, and Dr Scott's patched me up good as new – right Rachel?" Tom reassured the tearful children, his eyes catching Rachel's, silently asking for her confirmation. Rachel knelt down at Tom's side, smiling at Ashley and Sam who looked over at her.

"Absolutely! Your Dad's going to be just fine, I promise!" Rachel said, reaching over and squeezing each child's arm in a comforting gesture.

"Well if Dr Rachel says you're ok Daddy, then that's fine" Ashley said, sounding far older than her 13 years, speaking with a confident tone, so as to reassure Sam. Tom found it starling and quite sweet the way the children took Rachel's word as gospel. Still, she had that effect on people, her unfailing honesty meant people took her words as the god's honest truth – rarely did she lie.

"Now that we've settled that – how come you two aren't in bed yet?" Tom asked, knowing they should've been in bed hours ago.

"My fault Tom" Jed told him, entering the room "Someone found a copy of Lady and the Tramp, and we stayed up to watch it, figured one late night wouldn't hurt"

"Fair enough Dad, but kids? Now the movies over – time for bed!" Tom stated firmly, wavering even in the face of their pleas to stay up just a few more minutes.

Rachel watched on, enjoying the way Tom behaved with his children – fatherhood came so naturally to him. Realising they weren't going to get their way, the children kissed Rachel and Tom good night, disappearing with their Grandfather into the small cabin across the p-way they shared together, leaving the two adults alone. Rachel walked over to the cabin door, intending to leave but Tom snaked out a hand, catching her by the waist and gently pulling her back into his arms. He cupped her face in his hands, running his thumb over her lips before lowering his head and kissing her slowly, seducing her with his mouth. Rachel gasped in pleasure, allowing Tom to thrust his tongue gently between her parted lips, enticing hers into a slow dance. Rachel returned the kiss with equal fervour, taking the time to savour the taste of him, the feel of his body pressed against hers – it felt _so good_.

Shyly, Rachel ran her hands slowly down Tom's chest, carefully avoiding the wound she had just carefully sutured. Her caresses were light, teasing, exploring every inch she could – Tom had never felt anything quite so erotic as Rachel's simple exploration. Deftly, he began to unbutton her shirt button by button whilst his mouth began to leave a trail of kisses down her neck, just as he had back in sickbay, enjoying the soft little sighs of pleasure Rachel was making as he did so. Realising where things were going, Rachel gently reached out and brought his face level with her own.

"Tom, as much as I'm enjoying what you're doing, you're in no shape to..." Rachel paused, not quite sure how to phrase things

"Make love to you?" Tom finished "Honey, there are other ways to pleasure each other, I'm well aware of my current ...limitations shall we say"

Rachel stared at him for a moment before she smiled shyly at him – this man attracted her like no other, and she wasn't blind to the interest other men like Tex had shown towards her; for Rachel, Tom was it – anyone else would just be settling for second best. Tom could see the emotion in her eyes, they were so expressive, a window to her beautiful soul. He took her hand, pulling her slowly into the privacy of his bedroom – for what he had in mind he didn't want an audience! Rachel followed him willingly, her body tingling in anticipation of what she knew was to come, wanted it with every fibre of her being. Before he could take things any further, Rachel put a hand on his chest, wagging her finger at him playfully.

"Hold on there Casanova, considering you've got an abdominal wound I've just spent the last 20 minutes _repairing_, I think maybe we should slow things down a little – you need rest" Rachel told him, relishing the opportunity to have this gorgeous man under her control for once, rather than the other way 'round! Tom raised his eyebrows in surprise at this unexpected turn of events.

"Rachel, you weren't objecting just now and you can't order me to do anything" He replied, slightly confused, had he read her that wrongly?

"Oh I'm not objecting at all Captain, and I think you'll find as your doctor, I'm one of the few people who _can_ order you about, and I promise – you'll enjoy following my orders Tom" Rachel purred, smiling seductively "so why don't you lie down on the bed like a good patient hmm?"

Tom grinned, relieved that he hadn't misread the situation and intrigued as to where she was taking things – this woman never ceased to surprise him.

"Yes Ma'am!" He replied softly, walking past her, trailing suggestive fingers across her exposed stomach as he did so. Rachel shivered in anticipation, loving the skin on skin contact.

Tom started to remove his clothing, but Rachel placed her hands over his, stopping him before completing the job herself, making sure to caress each centimetre of skin she uncovered, before stepping away from him once more. Tom relaxed on the bed, gazing up at her gorgeous form, trying not to wince as he felt the soreness from the wound and realised Rachel had been right to take control of events, not that he'd tell her so! He watched in fascination as she slowly shrugged herself out of the shirt she'd been wearing, letting it fall to the bedroom floor with a soft whisper. Rachel turned away from the bed and began to remove her jeans in a leisurely fashion, peeling them off inch by inch, giving Tom a delicious view of her body. Tom couldn't take his eyes off her; she had runner's legs that just seemed to go on forever not to mention curves in _all_ the right places. Wearing little more than bra and panties, Rachel walked back to the bed and stretched out beside him, reaching out to run her fingertips down his chest, just as he'd done to her moments before. Before he could react, she began to kiss her way down his body with soft, featherlike kisses that had _him_ shivering with delight as he realised just _where _she was heading_!_

Rachel looked up at him as she reached her intended target, slipping her fingers underneath the waistband of his boxers, smiling Tom thought, like a cat that had well and truly got the cream. She inched the garment off with excruciating slowness, he swore she was trying to finish off what that idiot with the knife had started, but he wasn't going to stop her, he was enjoying it far too much. Released from its fabric confines, his already erect member sprang free as Rachel wrapped her fingers around it, stroking it from top to bottom with deliberate, measured caresses. Tom closed his eyes, his breathing quickening with every stroke she made – it was all he could do not to cry out in sheer bliss. When Rachel replaced her hands with that luscious mouth of hers, Tom couldn't hold back the throaty moan of desire as she licked and sucked her way up and down his shaft. She seemed to know just where to lick, hit every erogenous zone he had, to the point he swore he was going to die from an overload of pleasure. Rachel watched the look of intense desire that crossed his face, he was so close to his release, she could hear it in the moans of desire he could no longer hold back.

"_Rachel... oh god yesss...right there sweetheart...so close...don't stop_!" he groaned, his hands gripping the bed sheets tightly.

"Oh I have no _intention_ of stopping Thomas – none at _all!" _Rachel replied breathlessly, finding herself as turned on as he just from watching and listening to his responses. She resumed her sensual ministrations, revelling in the sensual pleasure she was giving him, watching as his release took him over the edge. It was beautiful to watch Rachel thought as she waited for Tom to come down from his high, crawling up his body to nestle in his arms, being careful to avoid his wound. He leaned over and kissed her, finding the taste of himself on her lips as erotic as the pleasure she'd just given him.

"God Rachel that was... wow" Tom said, not trusting himself to say anymore, it had been such a sensuous experience, one he'd not had in a long time. Rachel had given him such pleasure without taking anything herself touched him more than he could say – it was one of the many things he loved about her.

"Next time though sweetheart, it's my turn to do the tasting – after all, turnabout is fair play!" He told her, "and yes love, I _do _enjoy taking orders from you" Tom brought her face up to his kissing her again before pulling the sheets over their cooling bodies, content to just enjoy the delight of holding the woman he loved in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next few weeks were an exercise in frustration for Tom, as having made the discovery that Rachel returned his feelings he wanted desperately to take things further. Rachel was having none of it, though, insisting his body needed to heal from the wound he'd suffered in his recent sortie ashore. He knew she was right, but it didn't ease the frustration he felt, although it did give them the chance to really get to know each other. Rachel spent the majority of her off-duty with Tom and his family, who had taken to Rachel's warm, caring nature quite readily, and Rachel found herself enjoying being part of Tom's family circle. Ashley in particular liked having a female presence around again, as there were just some things you could only talk to another woman about. Sam too had taken to Rachel, the two had bonded over a love of books and Rachel could often be found reading to the little boy of an evening, the current favourite was _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. _What had surprised Tom the most though were Rachel's card playing skills, which she used to thrash his father at Poker, to Jed's surprise. He'd struggled not to laugh outright at the look of incredulity on his Dad's face when she'd laid out a full house one evening!

Finally, Rachel gave him the all clear and even offered to remove the stitches in his cabin, rather than making him come down to sickbay, to Tom's relief. He hated being in Sickbay, hated being ill period if he was honest – but it also gave him the chance to plan his seduction of the beautiful British doctor. Tom had arranged with Kelly and Quincy for the three children to have a movie night/sleepover, whilst giving his father a night off, leaving his quarters to himself. A quick call to sickbay made sure Rachel would arrive at his quarters for the appointed time. He made another call to the galley to arrange for a light meal to be delivered to his quarters on the pretext of a working dinner, thus avoiding sending the rumour mill into overdrive! Tom wasn't going to hide his relationship with Rachel, but neither did he want her to be the subject of gossip either.

A knock on his door told him the subject of his musings had arrived; Tom opened the door and grinned as Rachel stepped through the entrance, looking slightly flustered as she noticed they were both very much alone. For her part, Rachel could her heart doing back flips at the sight of that cheeky smile, those gorgeous ocean blue eyes, and the fact that they were completely alone together. There had been little opportunity for any chances to take their relationship to the next level since _her _seduction of him a few weeks ago.

"Where is everyone tonight? I thought it sounded quiet when I arrived" Rachel commented, as she removed the suture removal kit from her pocket, along with a dressing should it be necessary.

"The kids are having a movie night and sleepover, Dad is having the night off – just you and me" Tom murmured as he dropped a kiss onto the back of Rachel's neck, hearing the sharp intake of breath as he did so.

"Easy Casanova – let me take those stitches out first hmm?" Rachel laughed, though she'd enjoyed the sensations his kiss had invoked immensely, and didn't he know it the wretch!

"_Well two can play at that game" _Rachel thought to herself.As she removed the sutures, she ran her thumb along his side slowly, noting his own sharp intake of breath as she did so. Finally the last stitch was out, and Rachel stepped back to admire her handiwork, running her appreciative gaze over his deliciously toned body. Tom noticed the admiring gaze with pleasure, reaching out a hand to pull her into his arms and kiss Rachel soundly as he danced them slowly into the bedroom. Reaching the bed, he tumbled them both onto the bed, running his fingers in a leisurely manner up her shoulders, pushing the soft cotton shirt Rachel was wearing off, trailing his fingers over each area of skin he exposed. Without pause, he tugged the thin camisole she wore underneath off, never breaking eye contact except as he pulled the camisole over her head, followed swiftly by her bra.

Not wanting to take a back seat in his seduction of her, Rachel took hold of his t-shirt and removed it quickly, delighting in the vision of masculine splendour that greeted her eyes. Tom gently tugged her back into his arms, taking pleasure in the sensuous feel of skin against skin, before bending his head and taking a nipple into his mouth, suckling slowly. Rachel arched her back, closing her eyes as the delicious sensations coursed through her, not bothering to smother the moan of desire it made her feel. Eagerly, he switched his ministrations to her other breast, feeling Rachel's fingers burrow softly into his hair, holding his head in position, not wanting him to stop. He took her hands and pinned them above her head as he kissed and suckled his way down her body, letting them go to swiftly remove her jeans and panties, before sitting up and removing his own clothing.

Lying back down on the bed, Tom resumed his sensual exploration of Rachel's body, kissing and caressing his way down her body, everywhere but the one place she wanted him to. Judging by the mischievous look in his eyes, he knew _exactly _where she wanted his mouth – infuriating man! Finally, he kissed his way back up her legs, inching ever closer to her centre, his fingers sliding between her folds and stroking her bud gently, exerting just the right amount of pressure. When his lips and tongue finally replaced those wonderful fingers, Rachel nearly wept in ecstasy; if this was how good he made her feel with just his lips and mouth, she wasn't sure she'd survive much else! Tom could see how close Rachel was to her release, her face was a picture of sensual pleasure, and he could feel his inner caveman roar in triumph. His fingers slid inside her slick channel, thrusting in and out as his mouth and tongue stroked her bud, feeling her walls begin to spasm as her release took her over the edge. Tom pushed himself up the bed, pulling Rachel into his arms, spooning her body against his, stroking her body tenderly as she came down from her high.

Before he had a chance to do anything else, Rachel flipped them both over and straddled her lover's body, grinning like a Cheshire cat as she slowly impaled herself on his already erect member. Tom couldn't help himself as he moaned loudly at the delicious friction Rachel had generated as she took him into her silken depths, as he delighted in the look of ecstasy on her face. Rachel began to ride him, setting a leisurely, unhurried rhythm, not bothering to hide her satisfaction, whimpering with pleasure at every stroke. Tom reached between her folds again, stroking her bud gently, adding to the erotic sensations already coursing through Rachel's body; the sensations were almost overwhelming for them both. Tom sat up quickly and drew one nipple into his mouth - the sensation of fingers and tongue combined triggered Rachel's release, taking Tom over the edge with her collapsing back onto the bed together, panting in satisfaction.

"That was ...Wow" Tom chuckled, smiling at Rachel's blissful look of satisfaction as she snuggled into his arms "Just so you know, I do love you, you know"

Rachel looked down at Tom, stroking his face whilst she enjoyed the sensations running through her body, not to mention the sheer joy at his declaration of love.

"Likewise my darling, love you back" She told him "you make me feel beautiful Tom"

Pulling the covers over their cooling bodies, Tom drew her back into his arms, content to enjoy an evening alone with the woman he loved and who amazingly, loved him back.


End file.
